Charles II of Parma

Charles II of Parma (22 December 1799-16 April 1883) was King of Etruria from 27 May 1803 to 10 December 1807 (succeeding Louis I and preceding Maria Luisa of Lucca), Duke of Lucca from 13 March 1824 to 17 December 1847 (succeeding Maria Luisa), and Duke of Parma and Piacenza from 17 December 1847 to 17 May 1849 (succeeding Marie Louise of Parma and preceding Charles III of Parma).

Biography
Charles was born at the court of his grandfather Carlos IV of Spain in Madrid, Spain in 1799; he was the son of Louis, Prince of Piacenza and Infanta Maria Luisa of Spain. He spent his first years living at the Spanish court, and he became Crown Prince of Etruria in 1801 under the Third Treaty of San Ildefonso. He moved to Italy with his parents, and he succeeded his father as King of Etruria in 1803 after his father died at a young age. His mother assumed the regency during Charles' minority, and he never ruled in his own right; after Napoleon I annexed Etruria in 1807, mother and son went to live in exile in Spain. In May 1808, they were forced to leave Spain, and Maria Luisa was arrested at a convent in Rome. Between 1811 and 1814, he was raised by his deposed grandfather, the former King Carlos IV, and he became hereditary Prince of Lucca after his mother became its ruler in 1817.

Duke of Lucca and Parma
After his mother's death in 1824, Charles became the reigning Duke of Lucca, but he had little interest in ruling, leaving the duchy in the hands of his ministers. A liberal movement led him to abdicate Lucca in favor of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany in October 1847 in exchange for financial compensation, as he sought to retire to private life. However, two months later, he was bound by the Congress of Vienna to succeed Marie Louise of Parma as Duke of Parma and Piacenza, and he was ill-received by his new subjects. Within a few months, he was ousted by a revolution, and he was later restored to power by Austrian troops. On 14 March 1849, he abdicated in favor of his son, Charles III of Parma. His son was assassinated in 1854 and his grandson Robert I of Parma was deposed in 1860. In exile, Charles became Count of Villafranca, and he died in exile in Nice, France in 1883 at the age of 83.